Since a nationwide lockdown began in India on March 24^th, ISKCON and its affiliate foundations (Annamrita and India Tribal Care Trust) have served more than 12 million meals to people in need across the country from forty-six kitchens.

While the nation has been affected by the Coronavirus crisis and is observing a lockdown, millions have been stranded with no food and shelter. Amidst these challenging times, ISKCON, with the support of its donors and well-wishers, has been striving to feed low-income families, daily-wage laborers and migrant workers through its temples and affiliate foundations in the country. ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada’s vision, that no one within a ten-mile radius of any ISKCON center should go hungry, is even truer in today’s context.

Every day, hundreds of monks and volunteers prepare fresh and nutritious meals, which are cooked hygienically following all health regulations, as instructed by the state and the central government. 

The entire process, from the procurement of raw materials to distribution, is done in partnership with local government officials and agencies.

“ISKCON and its affiliate foundations would like to thank the governments, donors, volunteers, and well-wishers for helping us play our part in combating COVID-19,” reads a report on http://iskconfoodrelief.com/. 

Kusheshwar Singh, a migrant worker from Bihar in New Delhi, thanked ISKCON for their help. “We were starving, but ISKCON people are giving us daily meals, and if we continue to get some food like this, then we do not have to go back to our villages.” 

“I would like to thank ISKCON for heeding the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s call to help those who are impacted by the lockdown, and provide them a meal a day,” says politician Priyanka Chaturvedi. “Immense gratitude to them for helping in this hour of need.”